Aircraft passenger seat with forward arm rest pivot

ABSTRACT

A passenger seat with increased knee space for an aft-seated passenger, including a seat base for being attached to a supporting deck and at least one seat frame including a seat back and seat bottom carried by the seat base. At least one arm rest assembly is carried by the seat frame and including an arm rest mounted for pivotal movement about a pivot member between a use position with an upper support surface in a horizontal position for supporting a forearm of a passenger seated in the seat, and a stowed position wherein the upper support surface of the arm rest is perpendicular to the use position. The arm rest pivot member is mounted on the seat frame at a point forward of a plane defined by the seat back carried by the seat and above a point defined by the seat bottom for allowing the knee of an aft-seated passenger to occupy space behind the pivot member of the arm rest.

TECHNICAL FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] This invention relates to a passenger seat, particularly anaircraft passenger seat. Within the context of this application the term“arm rest” refers to a structure to one or both sides of a seat thatallows the passenger seated therein to support his arm or arms in acomfortable position. Aircraft passenger seats are typically constructedfrom modular components, the size, weight and construction of which aredictated by many considerations, including fuselage dimensions,aesthetic and safety considerations. Many of these requirements areimposed by law or regulation. The lower seat chassis is constructed ofleg modules, while the upper seat is constructed of section assemblymodules. In prior art seating systems the leg modules and sectionassembly modules are connected by mounting both to a pair of parallelbeams that extend laterally from one side of the seat or seat assemblyto the other. In coach class seats the arm rest is typically mounted ona pivot attachment near the rear of the seat, well behind the pointforward of the seat back where the elbow of the passenger is normallypositioned. For this reason, there are several inches of the arm restaft of the elbow rest point that is unused, but that add additionalweight and take up room between and to the rear of adjacent seats.

[0002] The location of the upper seat section modules is controlled bythe aircraft fuselage lines, statutory aisle requirements and carrierpreferences within these parameters. The location of the leg modules isgoverned by the positions of the floor tracks that extend along thelength of the fuselage and to which the seats are secured by trackfittings on the bottom of the leg modules. The position of the floortracks is generally fixed and permanent.

[0003] Within these requirements manufacturers of aircraft areconstantly refining seat designs to achieve more comfort and utilitywithin carrier-imposed restraints on cost, weight, maintenancedown-time, and safety.

[0004] The present invention relates to a passenger seat that hasimproved comfort, enhanced space, simplified design, and lighter weightresulting from an arm rest that pivots near the point of elbow contactand forward of the seat back.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide apassenger seat frame assembly that includes a minimum number of modularelements.

[0006] It is another object of the invention to provide a passenger seatframe assembly that has an arm rest pivoted near the point where theelbow of the passenger rests.

[0007] It is another object of the invention to provide a passenger seatthat has an arm rest that is light weight.

[0008] It is another object of the invention to provide a passenger seatthat has an arm rest that is light weight.

[0009] It is another object of the invention to provide a passenger seatthat has an arm rest that allows additional room for an aft-seatedpassenger.

[0010] These and other objects of the present invention are achieved inthe preferred embodiments disclosed below by providing a passenger seatwith increased knee space for an aft-seated passenger, comprising a seatbase for being attached to a supporting deck and at least one seat frameincluding a seat back and seat bottom carried by the seat base. At leastone arm rest assembly is carried by the seat frame and including an armrest mounted for pivotal movement about a pivot member between a useposition with an upper support surface in a horizontal position forsupporting a forearm of a passenger seated in the seat, and a stowedposition wherein the upper support surface of the arm rest isperpendicular to the use position. The arm rest pivot member is mountedon the seat frame at a point forward of a plane defined by the seat backcarried by the seat and above a point defined by the seat bottom forallowing the knee of an aft-seated passenger to occupy space behind thepivot member of the arm rest.

[0011] According to one preferred embodiment of the invention, the seatframe includes a arm rest frame member extending diagonally between theseat back and the seat bottom and on which the pivot member ispositioned.

[0012] According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, theseat includes a unitary seating element, comprising a pair of laterallyspaced-apart seat frames carried by the seat base, each of the seatframes defining a curved shape corresponding to the profile of ananatomically-appropriate seat bottom and seat back. A pair ofspaced-apart, curved, semi-rigid diaphragm supports carried byrespective seat frames in alignment with the curved shape of the seatframes and mounted for movement relative to the seat frames between afirst, upright position and a second, reclined position, and a diaphragmpositioned under tension between the diaphragm supports for providing acontinuous seat bottom and seat back support surface for a seatoccupant.

[0013] According to yet another preferred embodiment of the invention,stretchers are attached to and extend between the first and seconddiaphragm supports for maintaining the diaphragm supports in aspaced-apart condition with the diaphragm in tension.

[0014] According to yet another preferred embodiment of the invention,the seat includes a power assist assembly for providing resistanceagainst movement of the diaphragm supports from the upright to therecline position and a power assist for movement of the diaphragmsupports from the recline to the upright position.

[0015] According to yet another preferred embodiment of the invention,the power assist assembly comprises a spring moved into compression asthe diaphragm supports move from the upright to the recline position andinto extension as the diaphragm supports move from the recline to theupright position.

[0016] According to yet another preferred embodiment of the invention,the pair of diaphragm supports are carried in alignment with the curvedshape of the seat frames and mounted for movement relative to the seatframes by a plurality of spaced-part pairs of opposed rollers carried bythe seat frames and between which the diaphragm supports are capturedfor movement therebetween.

[0017] According to yet another preferred embodiment of the invention,the seat includes a lock for locking the diaphragm supports in a desiredposition.

[0018] According to yet another preferred embodiment of the invention,the diaphragm comprises a fabric.

[0019] According to yet another preferred embodiment of the invention,the diaphragm supports comprise carbon fiber material.

[0020] According to yet another preferred embodiment of the invention,the seat includes a leg rest assembly mounted proximate a front edge ofthe seat bottom and movable between a stowed position perpendicular tothe seat bottom and a support position extending outwardly from the seatbottom and forming an extension thereof for supporting the legs of thepassenger when the seat is in the recline position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Some of the objects of the invention have been set forth above.Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear as theinvention proceeds when taken in conjunction with the followingdrawings, in which:

[0022]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a three-seat assembly according toa preferred embodiment of the invention;

[0023]FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the seat assembly shown in FIG. 1,with interior components shown;

[0024]FIG. 3 is a side elevation similar to FIG. 2 with the leg restextended;

[0025]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a unitary seating elementaccording to a preferred embodiment of the invention;

[0026]FIG. 5 is a right side elevation of an alternative embodiment ofthe present invention;

[0027]FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view showing the seat arm rest andits relationship to knee room available to an aft-seated passenger, inpartial assembly with seating elements removed for clarity;

[0028]FIG. 7 is a elevation of the rear of a seat back that may be usedon a seat according the present invention;

[0029]FIG. 8 is a left side elevation of the seat shown in FIG. 5;

[0030]FIG. 9 is a rear view of a three-seat assembly according to oneembodiment of the invention; and

[0031]FIG. 10 is a rear view of a three-seat assembly according to oneembodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT AND BEST MODE

[0032] Referring now specifically to the drawings, a three-seat seat setaccording to the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 1 and showngenerally at reference numeral 10 and comprises individual joined seats10A, 10B, 10C that are movable from an upright to a recline positionwithout encroaching on an aft-seated passenger. This type of seating isconventionally referred to as “coach” or “main cabin” seating asdistinct from larger and more complex first class or business classseating. As will be seen below, the features of this invention are alsoapplicable to first and business class seating. The seat set 10 includesa seat base 11. The seat base 11 includes a pair of leg assemblies 12and 13 for being attached to a supporting surface by means ofconventional track fittings such as disclosed in applicant's U.S. Pat.Nos. 4,776,533; 5,169,091 and 5,871,318. Four seat frames 14, 15, 16 and17 are connected by single laterally-extending beam 18. A baggage guardrail 19 prevents baggage stowed under the seats 10A, 10B, 10C fromsliding forward into the leg area of the passengers.

[0033] The beam 18 represents a radical departure from conventional seatdesign, where a pair of parallel fore-and aft beams provide support tothe entire seat structure. The beam 18 is oval in cross-section anddownwardly curved laterally across the front of each of the seats 10A,10B, 10C. This combination of the oval cross-section and the curveprovides sufficient strength to support the entire on the leg assemblies12 and 13, thus eliminating the need for a second beam.

[0034] Each seat 10A, 10B, 10C thus includes a pair of the shared,laterally spaced-apart seat frames 14, 15, 16 and 17, each of which hasa curved shape generally corresponding to the profile of ananatomically-appropriate generally horizontal seat bottom and generallyvertical seat back, and includes an extension to the floor. Arm rests22, 23, 24 and 25 are pivotally-mounted on respective seat frames 14,15, 16 and 17.

[0035] Referring now to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, seat 10A, exemplary of each ofthe seats 10A, 10B, 10C, has a curved, semi-rigid diaphragm support 30carried by seat frames 14, 15 in alignment with the curved shape of theseat frames 14, 15 and mounted for movement relative to the seat frames14, 15 between a first, upright position, FIG. 2, and a second, reclinedposition, FIG. 3. The diaphragm support 30 is preferably made of acontrolled flex material, such as a laminated composite carbon fiberresin. This material is well-known as a lightweight, durable andrelatively inert material particularly suitable for aircraft use. Othermaterials having similar characteristics may also be used, includingvarious polymers, particularly including nonflammable polymers. Thesupport 30 is molded into the desired shape using conventional carbonfiber molding and fabrication techniques, and forms a seat back 30A anda seat bottom 30B.

[0036] The diaphragm support 30 is mounted on the seat frames 14, 15 bymeans of sets of cooperating rollers between which the diaphragm support30 is captured. As is best shown in FIG. 4, rollers 31A,31B and 32A,32Band 33A,33B and 34A,34B are carried by the seat frames 14, 15 and engagethe front and back sides of the diaphragm support 30 to provide rollersurfaces against which the diaphragm support 30 rides. The forwardportion of the seat bottom is supported by rollers 35, 36 and 37, 38,also carried by the seat frames 14, 15. The foot rest 40 ispivotally-mounted on pivot pins 41, 42 for movement between a retractedposition, FIGS. 2 and 4, and an extended position, FIG. 3. The foot rest40 is extended and retracted by a conventional gas strut.

[0037] The diaphragm support 30 is covered by a diaphragm 48 in the formof a fabric seat suspension material such as a material made by DuPontand sold under the trademark Dymetrol 200, or a unidirectional fabricsold under the trademark Crystal Flex, or any other suitable fabric. Thematerial 48 is stretched onto the diaphragm support 30 under tension andprovides a seating surface.

[0038] As is shown by comparing FIGS. 2 and 3, passenger recline isachieved by translation of the diaphragm support 30 downwardly relativeto the seat frames 14, 15. The rollers 31A, 31B, 32A, 32B, 33A, 33B,34A, 34B, 35, 36, 37 and 38 permit the diaphragm support 30 to translatewithin a narrow range of motion. The weight of the passenger issufficient to cause the diaphragm support 30 to slide downwardly. Thediaphragm support 30 is locked into position as desired by a piston andcylinder assembly, not shown, positioned under the seat 10A, such as a“Mechlok” linear locking device manufactured by P.L. Porter Controls,Inc. Leg pressure is used to raise and lock the seat in a desiredposition.

[0039] The seats 10A, 10B, 10C are trimmed with a protective anddecorative shell 39, within which the structural components andoperative elements of the seat are enclosed and protected. A meal tray45 is mounted on a pivot 46 for movement between a horizontal useposition and a vertical stowed position in a recess 47 in the shell 39.

[0040] The above-described seat design has the effect of causing thepassenger to recline by rotating the passenger about a pivot point inthe area of the hips. The passenger's back moves downwardly and the legsmove upwardly, maintaining the same relative body position. Thisprovides a more comfortable recline position without the tendency of thepassenger to merely slide forward on the seat bottom when the seat backis reclined.

[0041] Curved stretchers 50, 51, 52 extend between opposite sides of thediaphragm support 30 and maintain the width of the diaphragm 30 and thusthe tension on the diaphragm 48.

[0042] A alternative embodiment of the seat 10A is shown in FIGS. 5 and8 at reference number 60.

[0043] Referring now to FIG. 6, the view demonstrates features thatresult from moving the arm rest pivot forwardly and the absence of theaft beam present in prior art seats. As is shown, the pivot of the armrest 23 is now at a point directly under the elbow of the passenger, anddoes not extend rearwardly into the plane of the seat back. Without therequirement to provide space between adjacent seat backs for the stowedarm rest to reside, the seat back can be made wider, and the area wherethe arm rest pivot would normally be positioned can be made availablefor other uses. As shown in FIG. 6, the seat back 30A includes twoconcave, inwardly-dished areas 62, 63 that reside forwardly of the kneeareas of the aft-seated passenger. These areas provide greater kneeclearance for all passengers and particularly for taller passengerswhose knees are typically within several inches of the seat back, it notactually touching. This, in combination with the above-described seatback design features that avoid aft movement of the seat back 30A whenthe passenger reclines the seat, provides an ergonomic design thatprovides greater comfort for both the forward and the aft-seatedpassengers.

[0044] Referring now to FIG. 7, a view of the rear side of a seat back70 according to one embodiment of the invention is shown. In thisparticular embodiment, the rear of the seat above the meal tray 45 isprovided with a audio/video system that includes a video screen 72. Inaddition, all of the audio/video controls, the flight attendant callbutton, reading light, and seat adjustment controls are positioned onthe seat back 70 around the video screen 72 in a desired arrangement atreference numerals 73-78. This position is much more accessible thancontrols that are now often positioned on the inside face of the armrest where they are hard to see and operate.

[0045] Of course, any desired combination of controls can be positionedas shown, with other controls in their conventional positions. Controlcables are routed from seat 10A and overhead-positioned features such aslighting to a forward-positioned seat back by a wiring chase positionedon the deck of the aircraft, through the bulkheads. Certain functionsmay be controlled by a wireless system.

[0046] This design illustrates further advantages obtained bymaintaining the seat back in a stationary position. The video screen 72does not move and thus does not require a mechanism to pivot the screen72 to compensate for movement of the seat back. All of the controls onthe seat back 39 are easy to see and reach by the passenger.

[0047] Referring now to FIGS. 9 and 10, two further embodiments of seatsets according to the invention are shown at 80 and 100, respectively.

[0048] Seat set 80 includes three seats 80A, 80B, 80C mounted on asingle curved tubular beam 81, as described above, carried by two legassemblies 82, 83. The seats 80A, 80B, 80C are also supported by seatframes 84, 85, 86, 87 that carry a baggage guard rail 88.Forward-pivoted arm rests 89, 90, 91 and 92 are carried by the seatframes 84, 85, 86, 87. Concave, inwardly-dished areas 93A, 93B, 94A,94B, and 95A, 95B, as described above, in the seat back provideadditional knee room to the passenger seated aft of the seats 80A, 80B,80C. Each of the seats 80A, 80B, 80C have a meal tray 97.

[0049] Seat set 100 includes three seats 100A, 100B, 100C mounted on asingle curved tubular beam 101, as described above, carried by two legassemblies 102, 103. The seats 100A, 100B, 100C are also supported byseat frames 104, 105, 106, 107 that carry a baggage guard rail 110.Forward-pivoted arm rests 109, 110, 111 and 112 are carried by the seatframes 104, 105, 106, 107. Concave, inwardly-dished areas 113A, 113B,114A, 114B, and 115A, 115B, as described above, in the seat back provideadditional knee room to the passenger seated aft of the seats 100A,100B, 100C. Each of the seats 100A, 100B, 100C have a meal tray 117.

[0050] A passenger seat is described above. Various details of theinvention may be changed without departing from its scope. Furthermore,the foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the inventionand the best mode for practicing the invention are provided for thepurpose of illustration only and not for the purpose of limitation—theinvention being defined by the claims.

I claim:
 1. A passenger seat with increased knee space for an aft-seatedpassenger, comprising: (a) a seat base for being attached to asupporting deck; (b) at least one seat frame including a seat back andseat bottom carried by the seat base; (c) at least one arm rest assemblycarried by the seat frame and including an arm rest mounted for pivotalmovement about a pivot member between: (i) a use position with an uppersupport surface in a horizontal position for supporting a forearm of apassenger seated in the seat; (ii) a stowed position wherein the uppersupport surface of the arm rest is perpendicular to the use position;and (d) the arm rest pivot member being mounted on the seat frame at apoint forward of a plane defined by the seat back carried by the seatand above a point defined by the seat bottom for allowing the knee of anaft-seated passenger to occupy space behind the pivot member of the armrest.
 2. A passenger seat according to claim 1, wherein said seat frameincludes a arm rest frame member extending diagonally between the seatback and the seat bottom and on which the pivot member is positioned. 3.A passenger seat according to claim 1, and including a unitary seatingelement, comprising: (a) a pair of laterally spaced-apart seat framescarried by the seat base, each of said seat frames defining a curvedshape corresponding to the profile of an anatomically-appropriate seatbottom and seat back; (b) a pair of spaced-apart, curved, semi-rigiddiaphragm supports carried by respective seat frames in alignment withthe curved shape of the seat frames and mounted for movement relative tothe seat frames between a first, upright position and a second, reclinedposition; and (c) a diaphragm positioned under tension between thediaphragm supports for providing a continuous seat bottom and seat backsupport surface for a seat occupant.
 4. A passenger seat according toclaim 1, and including stretchers attached to and extending between thefirst and second diaphragm supports for maintaining the diaphragmsupports in a spaced-apart condition with the diaphragm in tension.
 5. Apassenger seat according to claim 1, and including a power assistassembly for providing resistance against movement of the diaphragmsupports from the upright to the recline position and a power assist formovement of the diaphragm supports from the recline to the uprightposition.
 6. A passenger seat according to claim 5, wherein said powerassist assembly comprises a spring moved into compression as thediaphragm supports move from the upright to the recline position andinto extension as the diaphragm supports move from the recline to theupright position.
 7. A passenger seat according to claim 3, wherein thepair of diaphragm supports are carried in alignment with the curvedshape of the seat frames and mounted for movement relative to the seatframes by a plurality of spaced-part pairs of opposed rollers carried bythe seat frames and between which the diaphragm supports are capturedfor movement therebetween.
 8. A passenger seat according to claim 7, andincluding a lock for locking the diaphragm supports in a desiredposition.
 9. A passenger seat according to claim 7, wherein saiddiaphragm comprises a fabric.
 10. A passenger seat according to claim 7,wherein said diaphragm supports comprise carbon fiber material.
 11. Apassenger seat according to claim 1, and including a leg rest assemblymounted proximate a front edge of the seat bottom and movable between astowed position perpendicular to the seat bottom and a support positionextending outwardly from the seat bottom and forming an extensionthereof for supporting the legs of the passenger when the seat is in therecline position.